Kasich Says All Of Lake Erie Isn't In Trouble, Though His EPA Declared It "Impaired" In March

An image of Lake Erie captured by NASA on September 24, 2017, showing one of the largest algal blooms in the lake on record.

Earthobservatory.NASA.gov

Gov. John Kasich found himself in some hot water after saying in a recent speech that he doesn’t believe Lake Erie is impaired, contradicting a declaration from his own Environmental Protection Agency in March. Now Kasich is clarifying those comments.

Listen

Listening...

/

0:59

Kasich told the Michigan Press Association convention last weekend that the open waters of Lake Erie aren’t impaired and shouldn’t have that declaration. He now says he fears environmentalists may have taken his comments out of context.

“There are parts that we’ve declared impaired in the western basin. But in the middle of the lake, we don’t think so. And I’m not going to go around and say that all of Lake Erie is impaired.”

Ohio’s EPA director says the state will do whatever is necessary to bring the western basin back into compliance, and that state lawmakers need to limit use of commercial fertilizer to help manage nutrient runoff. And Kasich says if he has to take action unilaterally, he will.

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are sifting through President Donald Trump’s budget proposal, which has gotten a lot of heat from Democrats. There’s one issue that has riled up some of Ohio’s top leaders on both sides of the aisle.

The tail end of summer can mean big problems for many of Ohio’s lakes. The combination of farmland runoff and high temperatures is ideal for algae growth, algae that can then produce toxins in the water.